Railroad tie plate shim



Sept. 22, 1959 T. w. SAUL 2,905,390

RAILROAD TIE PLATE SHIM Filed March 22, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR:

Sept. 22, 1959 Filed March 22, 1955 T. w. SAUL RAILROAD TIE PLATE SHIM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 spikes to be driven only contiguous to the rail bases.

2,905,390 RAILROAD TIE PLATE SHIM Torn W. Saul, Tucson, Ariz.

Application March 22, 1955, Serial No. 495,987

6 Claims. 238--309) This invention relates generally to railway rail mounting devices and is concerned more particularly with an im proved means for securing the tie-plate to the tie and restricting both horizontal and vertical movements of the plate with reference to the spikes and to the tie below the plate into which the spikes are driven.

When mounting railway rails, it is customary to employ tie-plates which are secured to the upper surfaces of the spaced ties, said plates being of a'width substantially equal to the width of the ties upon which they are mounted. Such plates are equipped with ribs or shoulders to properly position the rails supported thereby. Conventional spikes are driven downwardly through holes in the tie-plates and into the ties to secure the plates to the ties, the heads of certain of these spikes overlying the longitudinal edges of the rail base to retain the rail within the recess between spikes are to be later driven. These square holesare designed to be of slightly greater cross-section than the spikes and to have their corners rounded to fit arcs of circles of small radius. These rounded corners result in small vertical fillets at the corners of the holes, the result 1 being that less clearance is provided between the corners of the spikes and the sides of the holes in the plates.

- '=Th'e holes in the plates are punched through fromthe under sides of the plates to the rail-supporting upper sides of the plates. As the punch proceeds through the metal is? in the forming of each of these holes," the cross-section of the hole tends to increase and, as the punch approaches the upper side of the plate, the metal ruptures and-is displacedahead of the punch. This results in an irregularly tapered hole with rough and uneven sides, in cross-section notably larger than the cross-section of the punch and in depth variable according to the thickness of the metal through which the hole is being punched. 7

It is well known in railroad engineering that such discrepancy in the hole sizes frequently results in insecure mounting of the tie plate in that play may occur between the spikes and the sides of the holes to cause looseness therebetween.

Such looseness permits the tie-plates to move both hori- -zontally and vertically under the rails as the latter are moved by the travel of the rolling, stock over them and such movements of the plates result in lifting and pressing of the plates against the spikes and thereby loosening and displacing the spikes in the ties and permitting abrasion of the ties by the plates. 1

Until recently tie-plates were equipped with holes for Tie plates of current design are generally made longer and are equipped with holes located toward the outside corners v0f the plates and distant fromthe rail bases. Spikes are 2,905,390 Patented Sept. 22, 1959 ICC driven into the ties through these holes to aid in restricting the movements of the tie plates relative to the ties. Primarily, however, their purpose is to guard against the vertical movements of the tie-plates and they are com.- monly termed hold-down spikes. I I

Since railroad operators employ very large numbers of the tie-plates for new tracks and as replacements in existing railways, it is important that the cost of the plates be maintained at a minimum. For this reason, the inaccurately punched square spike holes have been tolerated. In an eifort to alleviate misfitting of the spikes in the holes, the spikes have been designed with a view toward more completely filling in the holes to compensate for the excessive clearance between the shank of the spike and the hole. The spikes, which are steel forgings, are provided with shanks, the upper ends thereof immediately beneath the heads being tapered to conform generally to the inclined sides of the spike holes. The spikes are driven to a position where the tapered portions of their shanks tend to fill in the spike holes of the tie-plate. However, while this expediency may help to alleviate the condition, it is not wholly satisfactory for the reason that a precision fit of the tapered shank inthe hole is impossible due to the variations occurring inthe holes and the rough, uneven condition of the hole surfaces. Consequently, while some progress has been made in this direction, the means relied upon is inadequate to meet the demands of present-day railroading involving the use of rolling stock of ever increasing speeds.

It is the primary object of the present invention to obviate the deleterious condition discussed above byproviding means for more positively securing-the tie-plate in place on the tie in a manner such that relative movement between the tie, spikes and rail-plate is very eifectively resisted. This object is attained by providing means which insures a tight fit of the spike shank, substantially throughout its length, within the punched hole of the tieplate so as to restrict any movement of the tie-plate relative to the spike.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means, in the 'form of a filler or shim of relatively thin metal which is inserted into a square punched hole of the 'tie plate to provide a liner therefor, said filler element being of a thickness to take up the play or'cl'ear'ance between the sides of the hole and those of the spike driven there through. A related object is to provide a filler element which is angular to adapt its sides or legs to be positioned against right-angularly related sides of the spike'hole so as to reduce the size of the hole in both directions, that is, to reduce the cross-sectional area ot-the hole to one which variably approximates the cross-sectional area of the shank of the spike. By this provision, when the spike is driven through the hole, the fillerelement, which is constructed from somewhat'ductile metal, is compressed or flattened to cause it to be displaced more or less into the irregularities appearing in the sides of the hole, the metal thus wedging firmly between the sides of the hole and the spike to effect an extremely tight'force fit which makes it most difficult to move the tie-plate and spikes relative to each other. g

Another object of the invention is to provide a spikeholder element of the character referred to, which is easy to apply, the element being merely set into the hole, prior to insertion of the spike, with its sides or legs placed against the correspondingsides of the spike hole, the elelated object is to provide an element in which the ears or tabs are so located that the same element is adapted for use in either a spike hole located near the outeredge "5 of ,the.tie1plate..or .at .the thicker .purtionof .the plate 514- jacent the rail seat where the spike is used to overlie the longitudinal edge of the base flange of the rail. In the :latter case}. one .of -.the .tabs mayibe jengageable with and bendable bylthe .'head of; the driven spike so as to serveas :a .ispacenbetween the tie;pla,te. and. the-head pf the spike toxlirnitdownward movementofthezhead and thus provide slight clearancecbetween this :headand .therajl .to allowrthelatter to spring upwardly :in. response it the fWavemotion imparted to the. rail by the rolling stock. Anotherrobiect of .theginvention'lis toprovide atfiller element torslinersof the character specified which 1 has angularly-relatedisides .orleg the intersecting portion or corner between the sidesbeing provided ,with ,aslit extenm downwardlyfrorn the upper end of the element to a point adjacent the lower edge of the ,element. By this provision, :the sidesof theelemen er a apt tolh nd or. :deforrn la t erally, independently of each other, to conformito. :the inclined sideof the spike hole in the tie-plate 'againstmhipheach side of the. element is positioned. In additionh eto the .vertic l sli t o currenc ofv a solid thieknessroflthe liner interposedgbetween the corner of theispiketandrthefilletsa h soon r pfthehole .in he ti plate is .avoided so ;.t at d vi g f 1h? sp k own- .wardlytthro s h pikelhol si ne lm u y impa .15 rturther =obi tet-th i enti is qorov d ne ofitheztnn jn iea ed hav ngsi s which ar o su hwi t thamtheirstreedse ,remot f om th .sl a e po i one t rcl ar the fill ts lat th h or e p ndin corne o t Pi :;h .1e..50 .asr av i hst u fion s -passa of the cornerirofz t eisnik a th l te dr vent mu h t hole into the wogglen tie.

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its 1 i ie-mer peet r :uiewrof a taflliet eafle ee sp ke emp eredlfen nppon r iene p th e ls e ,ere wayatr ek;

. s lr-ist plan iewh th s me o a lar s a e; 3 -.i ..e et ona v ew, ta e enlin 3-4 .si le Yertiee ewfiomlfiemleken on ine. .:4 ohms-.3;

..- is- -e. qs e iene view take en i .5.5

.1 ...l= s-. hi ;v rti a1.-seeti9ne1t e t ken e i. o h s- I I s .iean-en ersed .s.ee -.-nla :X ew taken 7 of (Fig. 5;

.-.ri ..si nersre t v ot w o t-one team o th .fi l

eleme iti n ne is i .Pe PeetiY ivi w..-.e. s9 he terms-9 th fille gelemente lin n; 1

-.:F. s- 1ot san p iyeyie o st lllaneth a ern tiv emh di ae to th fill elemem- Referring first to Figs. 1 to 9 of thedgawings, thekpreswit-inventi n. i h re illue rete e ap i u e n. nest shau'ithase y mie e ra lwa .renew-h i e bas flae ellre l ndi sjwehrl rand. h a 2 The ra 20;.is;supported by a plurality of hard wood ties z i only an le whie ti i lluetr te .Aeiweu li ra lw str ein .la era yrspa e .lqnsitudin l .ish ulders. 29 yh w en wh oh thei lo gitu inal ...edges 5 .of 5111c rail :base 21 are lgeatesii .tmpteyent: .laterahspreading on the track. n'Ihe lieplate 2.6 .is provided with a plurality of spike holesgp and 31 punched through the metal from beneath the plate. The holes 30 are located in the outer sloping portions 27 while the other holes 31 are disposed at the ribs 28. As shown, these holes are square in cross section, the sides of the holes meeting in rounded corners or fillets 32. According to standard pgactiee, the square holes 30 are punched through from the 'uiide'i 'side of the plate and due to the action ofithepunch as explained above, each hole assumes a tapered contour yvi t hi t s sides diverging toward the upper side of the plate; since'the metal ruptures and is displaced aheadiof i116; punch, rthe.sidespofZt-hev upp portion of the hole may slope outwardly at a greater angle, as shown in Figs, 3 "to 6,'a1id"have rough, uneven surfaces.

Each tie-plate 26 is secured against the upper surface of a tie 25 by means of conventional spikes 35 which are driventhrough the holes -30..and 31 and intotheiwooden tie 25. Inaccordance with standardpractice, each spike has a shank 36 of squarecross sectional shape, the shank having a .lower pointed end (Fig. 1.) which facilitates driving vthersame.intothe tie 25. The spike 35 alsohas a head 37 of generally .ovalshape. As shown, the upper end 3.8 of the. shank. 3.6 immediatelybelowgtherhead 3,7 is tapered .to adapt it toconform somewhat .to the irregularly tapered forrnof the hole-30 tor .31;ofsthe'..tie-.plate .It .is intended. that theupper. end 3.8 of the shank 5,6 twill fit snugly within thetapered hole 30 or 3.1 when .the .spikeis .driven into thetieandthus wedge therein to. provide alight fi t. However, due to inaccuracies in .the sizes and iirregulartaper of the holes 30, Sland to the rough surfaces thereof, referred vto above,.,what.rnay, first appear to be a tight fit is in effect arelativelyloose one whichinvariably. becomes. even morepronounced, as time goes .on, :this condition beingaggravatedlby the lateral .stressesand, strains imposed against the tie-plate :by vthe rolling stock. -When such looseness prevails, the tie-plate is permitted to move both horizontally and vertically under the rail as the latter ismoved .by. the rolling stock traveling Qver'the rail and. suchmovements may result in lifting and forcing ,of the plateagainst the, spikes to ie us loo n ng and d splacing of th p r e .condition-may-be ,so extensive as .to, allow lateral p i i o thera Aspreviouslyindicated, it: is the ,purpose of this invention toobviatethis condition by,proyiding an elfectively tight-fit of the spikesin holes ofthe tie-plate so. as. to ruinimige relative moyement therebetween. In accordance w ththe nven ien i h sre tisatta n d by ut lizing filler or shim rneans within the holes. 'Thismeansmayconsistpf a-fillerelement or;liner 40 which is made .as a simpleete ni r m she t. m t pr fera ly f. melaire y- .ef .d e nature. I

As .lshown best in Fig. 8, each element40 issimply a sheetrnetal angle havingrighkangularly related sidesor l s 4 th an beinsrsl tv n yat the ersection of the sides,ias.shown at 42, withthe slit ormslot .termjpating at .a short distance above thelower end of the element. [TheslotAZ' preferably. isof .a .width at least. equal to the chordakdistance. across, a fillet ,32. of the spike hoIes 30 or 31. The sideAZ ;is [somewhat longer than the side 41 and its upper edge..por,t ion,m ay h s rye sli ht a sh w em- -1he ethenle rsl-h e l illieid Pe tte or e 11 t PPW e dh iP P e i-th fshe met e a m ortan ee der e .1 e e reafl 'i iss teem ten thav sp hele 9ifi 49h 9i i ehe e ep A6 .a ..th Ell 5 ine Spi e u e erew t Thi ov r ize i lprovided because of the presence of the fillets at. the ,corners .of the holes yhich are necessary to, pteYent rupture of, the steel anihreakage of .theuplates, duringthepunchingop- .eration. .=It1.is.rim ortant. to note thatthe .73. inch square spikes,arefrequentlyuupsettduringi thel pointing, operation 10 besslightly'..over:size--for 4 some distance above --their points. Also, in the formation of the heads of the spikes, the shanks of the spikes are frequently up-set to oversize some distance below the tapered portions 38 of the upper shanks. For this reason, the thickness of each liner 4% must be somewhat less than the inch clearance indicated between the spike and the sides of the hole in the plate. For example, it has been found that a liner fabricated from 18 gauge sheet metal stock satisfactorily meets the requirements.

Assuming that the tie-plate 26 is in place upon the tie 25 and that the rail 20 is resting upon the tie-plate and has been aligned and gauged, to anchor the tie-plate and hold the rail in place, the following procedure is carried out. The workmen may first place the filler elements 40 in the square apertures 30 and 31 in the appropriate positions. In this respect, it is to be noted that in applying an element 40 to a spike hole 30, the wing 42 thereof is located at the side of the aperture which is nearest a longitudinal edge of the tie-plate, and the wing 41 is located at a side of the aperture which extends normal to said edge. On the other hand, when inserting an element 40 into a spike hole 31, the wing 41 is positioned to extend parallel to the longitudinal shoulder 29 of the tie-plate while the side 42 is caused to extend normal thereto. In either case, the tab or ear 44 of the wing 41 is adapted to rest upon the metal at the edge of the apertnre 30 or 31 to limit insertion of the element downwardly thereinto.

With the filler elements thus placed in the spike holes 30 and 31, the pointed end of a spike is irserted through a hole into contact with the wooden tie 25, after which the spike is driven into the wood by means of a sledge or a spike-driving mechanism. 4 During the initial driving action, the straight portion of the shank 36 slides freely through the aperture defined, in part, by the liner 40. During this initial driving, the tab 44 serves to prevent downward sliding of the liner in the hole. When the tapered portion 38 enters the tapered aperture 30 or 31, light binding action is created due to the fact that the wings or sides 41 and 42 reduce the efieotive area of the aperture 30 or 31 to a size which is substantially equal to, or slightly less than, the cross-sectional area of the tapered portion 38 of the spike shank 36.

The slit or slot 42' performs several important functions. For example, the slit allows one side of the liner to conform, independently of the other side, to the side of the hole in the tie plate against which it is positioned. It also provides that throughout its length a solid thickness of liner will not be interposed between the corner of the spike and the fillet in the corner of the hole in the plate, which condition, if allowed to exist, would make it almost impossible to drive the spike down through the hole. Such clearance is clearly shown in Fig. 7. Furthermore, if no slit were provided, the sides of the liner could, with utmost difliculty only, be positioned against the sides of the hole in the plate.

Due to the slit or slot, the edges of the sides of the liner adjacent to the slit or slot are positioned to clear the fillet and to present minimum obstruction to the passage of the corner of the spike which, as it is driven down, acts to properly position the sides of the liner to lie against the sides of the hole in the tie plate and to clear the corner fillet.

The bar portion of the metal beneath the slit or slot should be of minimum depth practical in the stamping process but must be of sufficient strength to position the sides of the liner during the driving of the spike, at least until frictional contact between the sides of the liner and the sides of the hole in the tie plate is sufiicient to prevent displacement of the liner. If desired, the bar portion may be flattened so as to inter-pose minimum metal between the fillet and the corner of the spike.

As driving of the spike is continued, the ductile metal of the wings 41 and 42 may be compressed lightly and deformed to cause the wings to follow the exact inclination of the rough, uneven sides of the aperture and to cause the metal to flow so as to compensate for the irregularities in the punched hole. The result of this action is to produce a tight fit of the tapered shank portion 38 of the spike in the aperture 30 or 31 which is so effective that the tie-plate and spikes are practically joined in an integral structure; Consequently, the tieplate 26 is secured fast to the tie 25 to guard against vertical or lateral movement of the. plate. Since pivoting or oscillation of the spikes relative to the tie-plate is prevented, it follows that the spikes will remain securely fastened within the tie to prevent enlargement of the holes in the tie. I

It is important that upward flexing of the rail 20 be permitted in response to the wave motion imparted thereto as the railway cars travel along the track. As shown in Fig. 3, the head 37 of the inner spikes overlie the longitudinal edges of the rail base 21 in spaced relation thereto to permit such undulation of the rail. In order to maintain this relation, the upper end 43 of the longer wing 42 underlies the head 37 and as the spike is driven, a sloping surface on the spike head acts to cam the end 43 over the rib 28 which then serves as a stop to limit further downward movement of the spike head, as illustrated in Fig. 4. f

Referring nowto Fig. 9, it is within the concept of this invention to provide a filler element 40' of alternative form which is similar to that shown in Fig. 9 with the exception that the extension 43 is omitted.

In Fig. 10 is illustrated a liner element 50 of further modified structure. This element has three sides 51, 52 and 53, each having an angularly bent ear or tab 54 at its upper end. It is to be observed that the intermediate side 52 is doubled back upon itself so that it is of twice the thickness of each of the other sides 51 and 53. The element is stamped from sheet metal of a thickness substantially equal to one-half of the clearance between the width of the aperture 30 or 31 and that of the spike. Consequently, when the element 50 is placed in an aperture it reduces the lateral dimensions thereof to substantially that of the tapered shank portion 38 as illustrated best in Fig. 11. Stated another way, the two sides 51 and 53 together take up the play between the spike and the aperture 30 in one direction while the side 52 of double thickness serves the same purpose in the other direction. It is thus seen that the effective dimensions of the square hole are reduced to substantially those of the spike so that when the latter is driven through the aperture, it will be firmly gripped therein to prevent loosening of the spike in the tie.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes I have herein described the principle of the invention, together with the structures which I now consider to represent the best embodiments thereof. I wish to have it understood, however, that various modifications might be made in the structure of the filler or liner means Without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with a railway tie-plate for mounting upon a tie and having a square downwardly convergent aperture through which a spike of square cross section and having a downwardly convergent shank is driven into the tie: a filler element insertable in the aperture and having two wings each placeable against a side of the aperture, said wings being of such thickness as to reduce the effective area of the aperture tosubstantially the cross-sectional area of the spike so as to effect a tight fit of the spike in the aperture, said wings being integrally joined one to the other adjacent their lower terminal ends.

2. In combination with a railway tie-plate for mounting upon a tie and having a square downwardly convergent aperture with filleted corners through which a spike of square cross section and having a downwardly iriser'tion of the spike. 7

convergent threat is drivendnto the tie; a ductile, sheet ihfretal'fillerelement insertable in the aperture and having two flat, vertically disposed' right-angularly rlate'dfand ntegrally'cdnnected wings each'placeabl againsta 'side of the aperture, said wings being of'subh thickness as tdre'duce the 'ifectiveareabftheaperture to'subtantially"the dross sectional ar a of "the spike so aslto 'efiect -ti' ht fit of the spik e 'in the aperture.'

[3; A filler 'elernentas defined in' claini 2 in which the sheet rnetal at the intersection off said integrally connected wings is slit longitudinally of said 'inte'rsection'to accommodate the adjacent'filletd corner of'the apertureand allow for free bending of thewings relay 'f fl h other re p nse teeth n 1 .5 1

ji r u hfl arsfi '4'. tillerelement as defined in claim 3 in which one fsaid wings has a laterallybutwa'rdly bent tab at its upper endto engage the top of the plateand maintain the 'said element in position in 'the aperture to 5. A' filler means for use in connection with a railway tie 'plate having a square downwardly convergent hole with fillet ed corners therein for receiving'tlie square 'shankof a spike having a downwardly convergent'shank,

there being lateral clearance between the hole and spike shank consisting of' a unitaryjfiller elenhent constructed frornfsheet' metal of a thickness substantially equalto 's aid clearance; said element having'two integrally connected right-angularly related wings each having a width slightly less than the width of said spike holeyone'wing fhaviiig a laterallyoutwardly bent tab at its upper edge to engage and rest on th e top of, the plate and the other .ll t Pr je we said t b a ele nt l i a slit ertten'ding I downwardly frorn'the toplengthwise along the intersection between said wings and terminating above "side of "said hole andsaid'sides being'bendable relative the lower edge of the elernent and adapted to accomnli'odate the'adjacent filleted corner in the hole, the'upper portions o'fhaid Wing's divided 'by said slit being bendable relative toeach other.

'6.'"'A"filler meansf or use in connection with a rail- Way tie-plate having a square downwardly convergent lio'le therein and through which the square downwardly cdrivergent shank of 'a spike extends, said hole being df greater cross-sectional area than that of -the-spike shank,

's'aidhol'e having rounded corners providing arcuate'fillets,

saidfiller means consisting 'of a unitary ductile, sheetrn'etahfiller elemenfof a thickness substantially equal to the lateral clearance between the hole and'shank,'said elenlent' having two integrally connected right-singularly 're'lated'vertical sides; the intersection of saidsides'havraga slit extending downwardly from the'upper end of the'elementand' terminating ata point in proximity to the loweren'dof the 'el'e rnent, the width of said' slit being equal to atleast the chordal distance across a s'aid fillet, each sideof the element being adapted "to'lie along a to eachother, each s'ide of the element'b'eing' of a width 'suchthat its vertical edge disposed" rernotely froni'sa'id intrsectionterr'ninates short of the adjacent fillt'of'the U." k 2 i 1s:

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITE ATES PA E I I 

